Code Monkey

So far there have been 13 episodes shown in Series 1 so far and while some of them are a bit... questionable... I like the series overall.

Though it's an off-shoot from the Doctor Who universe the characters & storylines are much darker then any of the recent Who series. Back in the days of Jon Pertwee & Tom Baker there were some dark storylines in Who but the stuff that they wouldn't dare show on the air back then is now fair game on Torchwood.

An Old Friend

Fried by a laser fence

Dr. Who (the new version) is through three seasons now. All are worth watching...I used to be a Baker fan in the old days, but the new show is better. Jack does a stint on the show in season one, so that will give you a little background on his Torchwood character, and there's another big story arc with him in season 3. I think Kevin is saying to watch season 3 of Dr. Who before season 2 of Torchwood, but I'd watch all three in order. It will make more sense that way.

Torchwood Season one is coming out on DVD in the states next Tuesday, and I'm Netflixing it.

Code Monkey

Dr. Who (the new version) is through three seasons now. All are worth watching...I used to be a Baker fan in the old days, but the new show is better. Jack does a stint on the show in season one, so that will give you a little background on his Torchwood character, and there's another big story arc with him in season 3. I think Kevin is saying to watch season 3 of Dr. Who before season 2 of Torchwood, but I'd watch all three in order. It will make more sense that way.

Torchwood Season one is coming out on DVD in the states next Tuesday, and I'm Netflixing it.

Yep... the character of Capt. Jack is seen heading towards the sound of the Tardis at the end of Series 1 of Torchwood and is then seen again in Series 3 of Dr. Who. The upcoming Series 2 of Torchwood then picks up the character again as he leaves the company of the Dr. to rejoin Torchwood. At least one of the Who companions also then shows up briefly on Torchwood.

{BTW: Anybody else besides me start hearing a certain Billy Joel song in their head every time they see or hear "Capt. Jack" in the show? }

An Old Friend

No song. The paradox machine was interesting but the wrap up was too quick and convienent.
The master sent Torchwood to the Hymilayans on a wild goose chase. I guess cell phones work across time and space and Cptn Jack said he was staying with his team.
Cptn Jack is the only true fact in the universe and he is an anomoly.
I will watch season two.
BTW, My wife and kids are now into it so I have to play both series over again.

An Old Friend

John Barrowman, who stars in the Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood, told SCI FI Wire that he's opening to playing the omnisexual British time traveler for years to come.

"If I was asked to do Jack for the next five or six years I would do it with a big smile on my face, because I absolutely love playing him," Barrowman said in an interview. "When the time comes for us to close the page on Torchwood and Jack Harkness, I'm also then happy to do that when that decision is made. But I think it's got a bit of a life out there. Let's hope we get [season] three, [season] four and, hopefully, [season] five."

BBC Video released the first season of Torchwood on DVD earlier this week, and BBC America will kick off season two this weekend. Barrowman said that the season opener is indicative of "more character-based stories" to come.

"You're going to learn an awful lot more about Toshiko [Naoko Mori], Owen [Burn Gorman], Ianto [Gareth David-Lloyd] and Gwen [Eve Myles]," Barrowman said. "You're going to also see much more of Jack's history. Our time travel in Torchwood is different. [In] Doctor Who, the Doctor gets in a Tardis and travels. Our time travel is done through memory. So you're going to go back in time with Jack through his memory. You're going to see the future through what he's seen in his memory."

Barrowman said to expect new shocks and more tears. "We have one episode--and Eve and I always laugh about this--where there's a wedding, a typical family wedding, where everything just goes wrong," he said. The second season premiere of Torchwood, featuring guest star James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) airs Jan. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. --Ian Spelling

An Old Friend

Burn Gorman, who plays Dr. Owen Harper on the Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood, told SCI FI Wire that he's pleased to see how the show has managed to emerge from the shadow of its predecessor, especially among American audiences.

"Personally, I find that really refreshing, that, basically, it's accepted as a stand-alone series," Gorman said in a phone interview. "It's certainly very different in tone. It still uses references to Doctor Who, but I think it's really good that it's being appreciated for what it is. Although I am a Doctor Who fan myself, so I always enjoy when there are references. When Jack goes off and disappears, it's kind of nice to have a mothership."

Torchwood stars John Barrowman as Capt. Jack Harkness, the leader of a secret organization charged with protecting Earth from alien threats. The character of Capt. Jack was originally introduced in the first season of the revitalized Doctor Who series in an episode titled "The Empty Child." He recently returned to that series in a three-episode arc culminating in the third-season finale.

As the second season of Torchwood begins, Jack is reunited with his team, who were left in the dark following his abrupt departure to be with the Doctor.

"Back to Cardiff, where he belongs," Gorman said. "He's a really fun guy to work with, John. He brings a hundred percent commitment. And I think one of the reasons we wanted to do it again is because we all genuinely get on and are able to spark off each other. The scripts are always very different as well. They're never pedestrian. Sometimes they're kind of really out there, but that's kind of what you want as an actor, isn't it? It's a sort of challenge, really."

When it premiered in the United States last September on BBC America, Torchwood became the highest-rated series in the history of that network. Gorman said that the cast and crew were heartened to see that the show has such universal appeal.

"We're really, really pleased about that," Gorman said. "In England, it started off as a kind of cult show, really. And then I think it's just like any show. Word of mouth. We just finished filming season two, and we're hoping it's kind of even better than the first. It's all you can hope for, really."